Environment

Western Sydney Parklands Trust is creating a 2000-hectare bushland corridor to maintain, reconnect and restore habitats and ecosystems in the heart of urban Western Sydney.

Western Sydney is home to more than two million people, and the Parklands' open space neighbours two major urban growth centres, which will accommodate an extra half a million new people over the next 25-30 years. At just over 5000 hectares, the Parklands is making a long-term contribution to restoring the balance between nature and urban development in Sydney and enabling Western Sydney's community to connect with the outdoors for generations to come.

Bringing back the Bush Program

The Trust is currently managing 1300 hectares of bush in varying condition. The goal is to double this to 2000 hectares by 2050, with a financial investment of $10 million. The Trust has set a target of expanding the bushland by 33ha annually, which will create protective buffers for the core habitat and link remnant bushland.

To achieve the 2050 target, the Trust has implemented:

Bush regeneration and revegetation: expanding core areas and targeted work to regenerate and revegetate linkages using experienced and qualified teams.

Schools: the 500 Schools Planting Program has restored edge habitats to expand the corridor and fostered a sense of ownership and enjoyment of the Australian bush among young people.

Employment and training: partnering with education and training institutions and NGOs to deliver training and transition to work for unemployed and special needs groups via social procurement contracts. We have put together a video of this fantastic program, if you would like to learn more about how social procurement can work for your business or organisation.

Birdwatching

Western Sydney Parklands is home to many birds including native cockatoos, lorikeets, rosellas, parrots and so many more. Birdwatching enthusiasts should head to Sugarloaf Ridge and Glendenning, and explore the Parklands track through Plough and Harrow, to capture views of wildlife. To find out more about the birds living in the Parklands, seeBirds of Western Sydney - A Photo Guide.